Fódlan's Shadow
by stralalneopac
Summary: At his wits end with the constant gossip of a late-night figure haunting Garreg Mach Monastery, Hubert concedes to getting his hands dirty and confronting the culprit himself.


The groaning creak of the door echoed through the hallway as Hubert turned the corner in gradual pursuit. He'd heard the rumours, insufferably frequent as they had been, all week, and was at the limit of his patience for them. It annoyed him greatly to have his usual channels of information gathering polluted with constant chatter of a gaunt figure in the dead of night, accompanied only by the slow creaking of doors and the menacing glint of sharp metal in their hand as they sprint through the monastery in the shadows. While he would normally ignore such frivolous gossip completely, its interference with his duties as Lady Edelgard's aide had forced his hand.

His frustration wouldn't be nearly as pronounced if he hadn't already confronted the obvious culprit only days ago. While trusting did not come easy to him, Hubert was confident in his reading of the members of his house; and it was clear to him that the recluse of the Black Eagles house, Bernadetta von Varley, that was responsible for these late night excursions. What he had underestimated, however, was the stubborn rejection he would face when confronting her. He had expected some opposition when questioning her, but her ability to deflect every word that came out of his mouth and flee left him in an exceptionally rare state of disbelief. It was because of this that he found himself peering through the ajar door to the library in the earliest hours of the morning, scanning for the sounds of activity within.

His lips stretched into sinister smirk as he slipped through the gap into the door, spotting his target huddled cross-legged in the far corner of the room. The light from a single candle exposed Bernadetta's haggard appearance, visibly exhausted but far more calm than one would normally see her, her attention was absorbed by the fabric on her lap as she expertly moved the needle back and forth at alarming speed, to the point that even to the ever attentive Hubert it seemed little more than a glint flying around before him. _'How bizarre,' _the creeping figure thought to himself, _'even she seems enraptured by her own craftsmanship.' _All he could do was stand and stare from the other side of the room, momentarily forgetting his self-appointed mission as she held his attention like this. 

"Eep! W-Who's there? Are you watching me? Stalking me!? I-I'm armed you know!"

It did not last long, however, and after a few moments of silent appreciation, Hubert was snapped back to his senses by the characteristically loud yells of his target, now stood upright and shaking, candle and needle in hand desperately scanning in Hubert's general direction. He sighed, shaking his head, and calmly but swiftly approached the almost manic girl.

"Ah, Bernadetta, I knew I'd find you in here." He flatly responded to her hostility. "There is no need for you to be so enthusiastic, students are sleeping at this hour."

"Hubert it's just you…wait what do you mean you knew I'd be here? You HAVE been stalking me!? Oh great Bernie now you've done it, you've gone and annoyed him so much that he's come to hunt you down in the middle of the night to finally-" Bernadetta's increasingly distraught ramblings were cut abruptly short by the frustrated snap of the man in front of her.

"I believe I asked that we remain quiet, did I not? I came here for a specific reason and I'm not going to allow your foolish ramblings to distract me from that any longer."

"Eek! I knew it! Bernie's gotten on everyone's nerves for the last time hasn't she? So you've come to silence poor little-"

"Bernadetta!" Hubert surprised even himself with how loud his shut down of her antics were. Composing himself, he placed on hand firmly on her shoulder to keep her in place as he continued. "I simply hunted you down to inform you that these late night excursions must stop, immediately. Impressive as your embroidery skills may be, that's no reason to practice such skills in the dark like this."

"Y-you think my sewing skills are impressive, Hubert?" She was taken aback by this comment, meekly brushing his comment off as her cheeks turned a hue of red unperceivable in the dark of the room, "Surely you're mistaken, I'm nothing special. In fact, if I was being honest I'd even say I'm below average!"

"Nonsense." There was not a shred of insincerity in his voice as he continued his praises, "It's no boast to say I have a keen eye, and even I had trouble keeping up with the sheer speed and precision of your needlework."

Bernadetta was completely floored by these comments, not expecting such genuine compliments from someone as scary and intimidating as Hubert, she felt torn on whether she should feel happy or be overtaken terrified and bolt for the door. She was, at the very least, overflowing with gratitude for the deep dark of the library right now as she felt her face get hotter and hotter with every passing second of this increasingly awkward silence as she tried to take in what was happening. Fortunately for her sanity, the mood was shattered by the groaning creak of the door echoing throughout the room as the helmet-covered head of a member of the Knights of Seiros appeared in the doorway.

"Ah, it was just students after all." His tone seemed disinterested and a little annoyed at the pair stood together, "Listen, you're allowed to use facilities like the library at all hours, but keep the noise down you two okay. Other students and faculty are trying to sleep and the last thing they need is being woken up at this time, okay?" Just as quickly as it appeared, the head vanished without so much as waiting for a response from the two of them.

"My apologies, Bernadetta, I hadn't intended to draw such unwanted attention." Hubert gave a curt bow towards the shorter girl before turning on the spot and making his own way to the door out. "You may continue your craft tonight, but I don't want to hear rumour again of a needle-bearing figure in the halls of this monastery, understood?" He quickened his pace as he approached the double doors and exited out into the hallway, leaving Bernadetta alone and somewhat confused in the library behind him. He shook his head once, twice, three times, silently grateful for the pitch dark of night around him as he too felt his face grow a gradually more hot during his interaction with his housemate and his hastened retreat. He would have to remember to keep a closer eye on Bernadetta von Varley, who unbeknownst to the dark mage was having similarly confused thoughts as she shakily lifted her needle by the candle light to continue where she left off, alone in the library.


End file.
